Public invited to City of Sarasota climate adaptation plan meeting set for Tuesday, Aug. 29

The city has produced this flyer about the Aug. 29 event. Image courtesy City of Sarasota

The public is invited to attend an Aug. 29 community meeting on the City of Sarasota’s climate adaptation plan, the city has announced.

The event will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Robert L. Taylor Community Complex, which is located at 1845 John Rivers St., formerly 34th Street.

“During the meeting, results of a recently completed climate change adaptation vulnerability assessment will be presented,” a news release says. More than 200 city-owned assets — including drinking water, wastewater, transportation and stormwater facilities; parks; and shorelines “were evaluated for vulnerabilities to sea level rise, extreme temperature change, rainfall and storm surge,” the release points out. The assessments were based on local climate projections for 2050, the release adds.

In his Aug. 18 newsletter, City Manager Tom Barwin pointed out that the consulting firm HDR worked with city staff to conduct that assessment.

“If you’re interested in learning about climate change or sea level rise and the potential impact to the community, we encourage you to attend,” said city Sustainability Manager Stevie Freeman-Montes in the release. “With Sarasota being a coastal community, we’re especially vulnerable when it comes to sea level rise and potential impacts on the city’s infrastructure,” she added in the release. “We’re taking a proactive approach, planning now, and we’d like input on how we can make Sarasota a more resilient community.”

The community meeting will include interactive web-based exercises, the release notes. Attendees are encouraged to bring a web-based mobile device (for example, a cell phone or a tablet). Wifi will be available, the release adds.